ABSTRACT
The study attempted to examine the impact of young volunteer tourists' psychological capital and negative mental health/well-being issues caused by exposure to stressful events on their intention to continue doing volunteer tourism activities. Also, the aim was to examine the moderation of social and organizational support in the association between psychological capital, mental health/well-being, and volunteers' intentions. Findings from the structural analysis indicated that volunteer tourists' mental health/well-being issues could significantly impact their intentions. Also, it was shown that psychological capital was a strong predictor of undesirable behaviors and feelings for volunteer tourists. Hence, the results indicated that model of the Theory of Planned Behavior can be extended by inserting two new critical constructs (psychological capital and mental health/well-being issues) that can have effects on fostering tourists' intention to continue volunteering. In addition, organizational and social support played an important moderating role. Based on the proposed research model, we presented important implications for volunteer tourism organizations to meet volunteers' needs and encourage positive intention.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic created novel conditions for researching travel behavior and tourists' reactions in times of crisis, which largely differs from previous studies of travel behavior affected by local risks or lower travel and recreational risks. This study aims to provide an understanding of the relationship between tourist personality (MINI IPIP-6 and sensation seeking), tourists' reactions to travel risk perception and changes in their travel behavior influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. To explore this, a global survey including 905 respondents from four countries (Spain, Croatia, Serbia and Russia) was conducted, while data were analyzed by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in AMOS. The findings suggest that tourist personality affects the changes in travel behavior influenced by COVID-19, both directly and via their reactions to travel risk.
ABSTRACT
The primary goal of this paper was to investigate the strength of the influence of different types of risk on the travelers' intention to visit destinations in future, that are, prejudiced due to COVID-19, marked as 'stigmatized';, 'isolated';, or 'risky destinations';. Field interview research was conducted at the 'Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport';(Serbia). The results obtained by multiple regression analysis showed that all types of risks influenced the intention of travelers, with financial risk showing a more significant impact. Canonical discriminant analysis indicated that men were most afraid of human induced risk, service quality risk, natural disaster and COVID-19 risk, and they chose safer destinations. Among the women, the biggest fear was financial risk, socio-psychological risk, and food safety risk. Older respondents and those under the influence of external factors decided on safer destinations, while financial status did not play a significant role in predicting the choice of destination. The selection of the destination according to the degree of security was determined by the ordinal regression methodology. The entire research presents a certain novelty, because so far in the numerous studies on the topic of the negative consequences of COVID-19 on tourism, there has been no discussion of stigmatized or risky destinations that received that epithet, and were therefore negatively and unfairly marked in the minds of tourists for future visits.
ABSTRACT
As one of the first European cases of the introduction of COVID-19 certificates, the Serbian Government initiated the measure of limited working hours of restaurants for unvaccinated visitors. Due to such actions and frequent bans on working during the pandemic, many restaurants in Serbia had to lay off workers or close. At the end of October 2021, the certificate for entering restaurants and all catering facilities for all the visitors became mandatory. It is interesting to note that earlier findings suggested that some personality characteristics determine the specific behaviors during the pandemic, but there is still a small number of results related to restaurants’ visitors. This study aimed to investigate the predictive strength of the Big Five Factors (BFF) to attitudes toward visits to restaurants in Serbia during the pandemic, depending on the attitudes toward accepting COVID-19 certificates. A survey was conducted on a total sample of 953 visitors of restaurants in three major cities in Serbia. The results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that Openness and Extraversion positively predict attitudes toward visits to facilities during a pandemic, while Conscientiousness and Neuroticism were negative predictors. However, in the second step of hierarchical regression analysis, attitudes toward a COVID-19 certificate as a mediator variable significantly reduced the negative effect of Neuroticism on the attitudes toward visits. It seems that, by obtaining the certificate, the fear of unsafe stays in restaurants can be reduced, and that making decisions about (no) visiting restaurants during the pandemic does not necessarily have to be compromised by emotional lability.
ABSTRACT
Soluble or instant espresso coffee in capsules with added values is a product that is increasingly recognized as a healthy lifestyle habit, which often goes together with the expansion of spa centers and spa hotels. In addition to the theoretical and empirical examination of sustainable drinking habits regarding different types of instant espresso coffee in Serbia, the aim was to define, by applying the theory of planned behavior, the relationship between certain factors that influence instant espresso coffee beverage reselection. The research model was developed using a sample of 1385 soluble/instant espresso coffee consumers. Structural equation modeling was applied to test the conceptual model and research hypotheses. The results indicate a statistically significant influence of certain predictors on the intention of consumers to rechoose soluble/instant coffee. One exception is perceived behavioral control, where statistical significance exceeds the allowed values, which indicate that the offer of functional soluble/instant espresso solutions should be extended outside high-quality service hotels and spa centers to be available to all consumers with healthy lifestyle habits. Defining the factors that influence instant espresso coffee reselection can help to understand influences on certain consumer behaviors and improve sustainability on the market.
ABSTRACT
The global pandemic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused significant economic changes for all segments of the economy. Travel restrictions have landed several commercial airlines and significantly reduced their revenues. Safety measures are strict and very demanded, especially when it comes to food drinks and beverages served during flights. This article aims to discover the predictors that influenced the intention of the airline’s passengers to travel long-distance flights in unusual conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and differs from current studies on airline selection and passenger loyalty because it includes changes in the behavior of employees who regularly fly medium- and long-distance flights. Requirements for passenger’s airline selection have been changed, which is why this study aimed to determine which factors influence the selection during reopening after lockdown. Determinants of food quality and safety during flights are a long-term challenge and could affect passengers’ choice of the airline they want to fly. This study was conducted during the reopening period of airlines, during the COVID-19 pandemic, on a sample of 369 Serbian passengers and employees on medium- and long-distance flights, in the period from November 20, 2020 to January 15, 2021. Regression analysis concluded that certain predictors such as food service quality and safety significantly affect the attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) of passengers and trigger the intention that affects behaviors in the choice of the airline during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when it comes to the flights with medium and long durations. To better interpret the effects, a path analysis was performed in the SPSS Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) software, version 26.00 with the aim to examine the importance and significance of causal relationships between groups of variables. The results confirmed the theory of planned behavior;that intentions are a significant mediator between the mentioned independent variables (attitudes about quality and safety of food, drinks and beverages, subjective norms, and perceived behavior control) and passenger behavior when rechoosing the same airline.
ABSTRACT
The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has enormous effects on peoples’ lives and on the global economy. The outbreak and effects of COVID-19 have resulted in fears, concerns, and anxiety among people all around the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the fear of COVID-19, travel anxiety, and travel intention among residents in Serbia. In addition to the above, the aim of the study was to examine the impact of personality traits on the fear of COVID-19, travel anxiety, and travel intentions. To enhance the understanding of the relationship between the mentioned variables, this study proposes a research model based on the use of measurement scales from the existing studies to develop the questionnaire. The standard paper-and-pen survey was used for data collection from the respondents from Serbia. The total sample include 987 respondents. It was determined that Travel intention was negatively influenced by Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, but positively by Extroversion and Openness. The supposed Agreeableness did not have a significant effect on Travel intention. This study contributes to understanding the respondents’ behavior during pandemic of COVID-19, and their responses to the crisis according to their personality traits might have practical implications in the travel sector.
ABSTRACT
Employee satisfaction is the main factor achieving high work performance, providing quality services in the tourism sector, which directly affects the increase in productivity and commitment to the organization. The research is focused on determining the factors of job satisfaction and commitment to the institution by the female workforce. The authors conducted a survey in tourism companies in Novi Sad (the second-largest city in Serbia), based on a sample of 610 women in total, using a standardized MSQ questionnaire for job satisfaction, and Meyer and Allen’s organizational commitment scale. Three multiple regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between job satisfaction factors and organizational commitment factors. The results confirm the existence and strength of correlation between satisfaction factors and types of organizational commitment, and the fact that the position of women in the tourism sector is not at an enviable level, and that they remain in the same organization because of the small number of alternatives and moral obligations.